Pre-Raphaelite Painting

The costume, scenic, and lighting designs for this production draw on Pre-Raphaelite paintings for their inspiration. The director, Derek Gagnier, was particularly influenced by Ford Madox Brown's Chaucer at the Court of Edward III and John Everett Millais' Lorenzo and Isabella. The costume designer, Sue Williams, derived much of the costume color palette from Millais' Mariana.

The Pre-Raphaelite Movement began in 1848 and continued to influence British art through the end of the 19th century.  The Pre-Raphaelite painters were known for their romantic subjects, vivid use of color, detailed depictions of nature, and re-imagining of the middle ages.  They were the rebellious revolutionaries of the 19th-century British art world (see the recent television mini-series Desperate Romantics for a taste of their lifestyles and angst).

Many of the Pre-Raphaelites admired Shakespeare and depicted scenes from his plays in their paintings.  In Romeo and Juliet, Brown depicted the lovers embracing on Juliet’s balcony.   Millais began The Death of Romeo and Juliet, but died himself before he could complete the piece.  Millais also painted one of the most famous of all Pre-Raphaelite works, Ophelia, which depicts another famous death scene from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.